Face (1997)

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

This is an old school London cops'n'robbers number a la The Long Good Friday.Carlisle is superb as the guy who used to follow his heart, but now knows better. In fact, I'm going to take a short-cut here: there are no bad performances in this. Nutcase, Julie (Phil Davis)and gravelly Winstone are tops, and even fresh-faced "looks like bundles to me" Albarn does no harm.Like a great episode of THE SWEENEY mangled-up in an Edgar Wallace Mystery, with all mod cons (e.g., brutal violence) this is a must see for genre fans. And it's an eyebrow raiser for those who thought that late 90's London couldn't turn this sort of thing out.

This is one of the best British Gangster movies of all time! Sadly overlooked. Robert Carlyle is brilliant and authentic in his delivery as a gang leader with a conscience. Like 'Clockers' this is a movie that makes you think. This is not just a gangster/robbery movie. It looks into the lives of each character and their interaction with society and each other. It looks at trust and conscience. The dialog is the best I have heard in this sort of movie and very real. Brilliant performances from all! Great story and ending. Why this was not promoted properly at the time I don't know. Its better than the middle class made Lock Stock, and on a par with The Long Good Friday. Watch and enjoy.

That might sound FACEtious however, to some extent Carlyle plays a similar sort of character who is unable to hold down a regular job. (Carlyle always has a look of total anxiety, as if he just opened up a tax audit it from the Inland Revenue). He is believable as Ray a gun welding crook , not a phyco path, but a former lefty who got fed up supporting fringe left-wing causes with nothing to show for it. He decides to earn a living the old fashioned way — 'by stealing it'! Ray struggles to balance a relationship with his mother, girlfriend as well as being troubled by his conscience about what he does. He does not particularly enjoy doing what he does and often wonders if it's worth it baring in mind he has done time in prison.It has the typical big robbery near the beginning where they have just two minutes to get in and out of the security complex, the obligatory 'have a go hero' guard who gets pistol whipped and then the escape. Much to the despair of the gang although they get a reasonable amount of cash by the time they take out expenses and split it 5 ways there not a lot to show for it. Was their poultry whack worth the risk for a 15 year stretch? To make matters worse and more complicated the tables are turned when the money is actually stolen from the gang, presumably by somebody who knows the routine and the gangs movements. Everybody suspects everybody else and Ray desperately tries to hold the gang together despite finger pointing, blame as well as trying to evade the police who are on to them. The next part of the film unfolds around betrayal, double crossing, desperation, evading capture and greed.The cast is good, Ray Winston does his usual, Damien Albarn tries to look tough, the weaselly nutter played by Philip Davis is entertaining and Steve Waddington plays a heavy that loves comics and is totally dependent on Ray for guidance . It's also good to see British veteran character Peter Vaughan no stranger to playing a crook , plus longtime downtrodden Brookside housewife Sue Johnson still rallying to left wing cause as Rays weary but devoted mum.Apart from the robbery there is a couple of big shoot outs, tension, a mystery, treachery and a couple of odd twists which keep up your interest. The conclusion of the movie is probably well balanced in the end most of the unlikable characters get what's coming to them! Despite possible flaws the cast certainly hold the movie together and it's well worth a watch!(Note: the greasy Irish junkie at the beginning was played by none other Gerry Conlon former Guildford bombing suspect whose conviction was quashed a number of years ago.)

Having seen FACE makes you wonder how badly written a script must be for it to be turned down for funding and produced scripts don`t come much worse than Ronan Bennett`s FACE . First of all what`s with the politics ? Ray used to be a commie ? Fair enough , if you can`t be a communist when you`re young when can you be one ? But this has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with either the plot or character development . The characters discuss the plight of the Kurds but this leads absolutely nowhere , and it should also be pointed out not all Kurdish groups are alligned to ultra left wing politics either ( Anyone heard of Ansar Al Islam ? ) so Bennett`s made a double blunder on that front . Secondly there`s incidents which like the politics just seem to be included for the sake of it . Remember the firefight of BLACK HAWK DOWN ? Well we see a couple of similar gun battles here . That`s right a British crime thriller emulates the battle of Mogadishu , oh and there`s a bizarre scene of the bad guys opening the boot of their car to let out one of their collegues - who`s been tied up ! - in the middle of a crowded street !! - while the police are searching for them !!! . Finally I wish to apologise if I used the word "Characters " in this review since this may give the impression Bennett has written characters - He hasnt . He`s written cyphers to speak lines and push the plot along . Take Stevie for example who`s written as an idiotic comic book geek but still beats people up when the script demands it Director Antonia Bird manages to rise above the script which when you stop to consider how bad the script is doesn`t come across as much of a compliment - That`s because it`s not supposed to be much of a compliment . Bird too hits us over the head with politics like having buildings covered in political graffiti and anti racist posters . Did I mention there`s no political subtext in this film ? because the director seems to think there might be , and despite enjoying the Britpop soundtrack there`s no real context for having all these songs included . If I remember correctly this was a problem with Bird`s later film RAVENOUS of having a jarring soundtrack and it should be pointed out that often the music drowns out the dialogue which is difficult to make out in the first place due to poor soundmixing It`s difficult to believe after reading this review but I awarded FACE six out of ten mainly due to the cast doing such a great job . Carlyle`s accent is faultless , Phil Davis plays Julian ( Strange name for a psychotic nutter Mr Bennett ? ) with infectious glee and how many other movies have you seen Ray Winstone get into a shoot out while wearing a Dalek T-shirt ?